Turning cold shoulder to Turkey would be major strategic mistake: US senator

Senator Mitch McConnell has urged the U.S. not to "turn a cold shoulder to Turkey" and work with its NATO ally. "Turning a cold shoulder all together would be a major strategic mistake and would jeopardize our national security and our interests,” McConnell said.

Duvar English

Republican Senator Mitch McConnell said on Nov. 13 that the U.S. would have committed a major mistake if it “turned a cold shoulder to Turkey,” urging the Congress to “remain clear-eyed” about the U.S. interests in the Middle East.

“The U.S. must recognize that the path to address our concerns [regarding Turkey] involves working with this important NATO ally and aligning its interests with ours. Turning a cold shoulder all together would be a major strategic mistake and would jeopardize our national security and our interests,” McConnell said during a speech at the Congress.

“We do not need Turkey to fall further into Moscow's orbits. I know my colleagues are looking to see if a deal can be reached on the S-400 air defense system. So I share my colleagues' uneasiness at seeing President [Recep Tayyip] Erdoğan honored down at the White House. But I urge this body to remain clear-eyed about our nation’s vital interests in the Middle East and the fact that advancing them will mean strengthening our relationship with this NATO ally, not weakening it further,” the U.S. senator said.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Nov. 13 that he and Erdoğan were talking about the F-35 fighter jet program with Republican U.S. senators, after Washington removed Turkey from the program over its purchase of a Russian S-400 missile defense system.

During a White House meeting attended by Erdoğan, five Republican Senators, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, a reporter asked Trump about the F-35 program.

"That’s what we’re here for, we’re talking about with our great senators. There are a lot of alternatives. We’ll work something out. I project that we will work something out," Trump said.

One of the Republican Senators that attended the meeting was Rick Scott. Prior to the meeting, Scott's office released an outline of the questions the U.S. senator was set to ask Erdoğan, CNN reporter Sarah Westwood tweeted on Nov. 13. One of the questions reportedly read, “Why did Turkey purchase the S-400 missile system from Russia, knowing that it would result in sanctions from the United States under CAATSA?” referring to the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act.

“It's clear that Turkey is not acting like a friend or ally right now. President Erdoğan must answer for Turkey's ongoing relationship with Russia,” Senator Scott reportedly said.

Meanwhile, U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Nov. 13 it was important to bring Turkey "back in the fold" as he renewed warnings that Ankara appeared to be drifting away from NATO with this year's arms deal with Russia and its operation into Syria.

"We need Turkey back in the fold. They've been good allies for many years, all the way back to fighting alongside the United States in the Korean war, up to (its) presence with us in Afghanistan," Esper told a small group of reporters.

"So we need to continue to build the ties, particularly at the (military-to-military) level, to ensure we can have an enduring relationship that will get us through this tough period right now."